The Origin of the Battle for the Center and John McCain

Three things spring to mind.

You wrote:
"Conservatives stand to win an unprecedented victory in this election."

What conservative would be winning this victory? McCain's victory in November would be promulgated on his DEFEAT of conservatism. (cue cheering on the left)

You also wrote:
"The truth is that the party will move to the left only for a brief time."

I have not read anything on McCain's or any other candidates positions which suggests that this is a temporary abandonment of principles for political expediency. Perhaps you could elaborate on your sources in support of this position.

Lastly, you have got to tell me where I can get a pair of those rose colored glasses. LOL!

entire republican party. it's a party driven by conservatism with an unexpected chance now to hand the democrats a (not underestimating) decisive and crippling defeat in november. that's something worth seeing, and if it happens, the country will actually move to the right. if the country moves right, the party of conservatism will not continue to move left.

LOL I thought of it not as a pair of rose colored glasses, but as HOPE.
beltway, I am not as convinced as you are about the "unprecedented victory" but I sure HOPE you are right.
I haven't seen any sign of real conservatives moving to the left, just moans about a left-leaning candidate. I want to see a REAL conservative put in as VP, even if he (or she)has to spend 4 years biting his or her tongue.
I sure agree that handing the Dems a "decisive and cripplling defeat" would be worth seeing, but I don't see it in Congress.
but interesting post!! I enjoyed it.

the unqualified Year of the Liberal. if that is thwarted, it will be nothing short of a miracle. i don't think we need hope now, but if the candidate of hope should be elected, well...

i'm a hopeaphobe!

The party is not being driven by conservatism, that is precisely what the uproar is all about.

McCain as the nominee becomes the titular head of the party and will place his like-minded people in the positions of power. People such as Juan Hernandez for example.

The McCain strategy is to eliminate conservatives and replace them with moderate democrats. If he is elected on those terms there will be no reason to move to the right again.

Conservatives are being given a choice of becoming a moderate or spiraling off into a Libertarian style third party. Either way conservative voices will no longer be taken seriously, at least not on the national level.

Washington was more hurt by Arnold's betrayal of trust than he was by the loss of West Point to his enemies the British.

oh boy, do I hope you are wrong and am afraid you are right.
They say things go in cycles but I don't see any sign of a return to old time conservatism. I'll be long gone before it happens , I'm afraid.
He just better put in constructionist judges!!

It would make me very happy were he to tip the balance of the court with another conservative. Of course, that court would probably overturn most of his signature legislation.

I think the more likely scenario is a spirit of compromise nomination taking a list from Harry Reid. In the worst case explaining that since Ginsberg is a liberal it is only fair and compromising to replace here with another liberal.

Did I give you this link before?

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31673.html

Read particularly the Devine statement on justices.

you'd never know what "the maverick" would do. we might have better luck with reid, ironically, who's pro-life (and i'm sure you know that)... but we do know what hillbama will be likely to do.

concerned about the maverick's judges especially. but not nearly as concerned as i would have been about giuliani...

all those links (i do read them). do you read krauthammer? krauthammer writes some great articles...

of the republican party. it's that simple. they will drive the republican party, they will move things. perhaps better than they did in the reagan administration, where we had sandra day o'connor as a justice. we saw how the pro-life caused was advanced there.

who was a better conservative than reagan?